The Consumers’ Foundation yesterday said travelers purchasing tickets from low-cost airlines had little protection when disputes arise and called on the government to establish standards to better protect customers.
Low-cost airlines that offer reduced in-flight services and require passengers to pay extra for items such as meals and blankets are popular with travelers on a tight budget. However, the foundation said customers using those services were often at a disadvantage in cases of dispute with an air carrier.
Foundation chairperson Joann Su (蘇錦霞) said low-cost airlines, which offer ticket prices as low as half the regular airfare of regular carriers, typically do not provide much service. It is common for budget airlines to charge additional fees for in-flight beverages, snacks, meals and blankets.
Some airlines have even considered charging a fee for using the lavatory, Su said.
Such airlines also offer low prices if customers purchase tickets as much as six months in advance, but a processing fee is charged if customers change their travel dates or switch flights.
Tickets are usually non-refundable, which can sometimes result in disputes for travelers who bought their tickets in -advance, she said.
While customers who buy their tickets from travel agencies may be eligible for some protection or compensation from those agencies, the situation is much more complicated if tickets are booked online directly from foreign budget airlines.
Su said the Consumer Protection Commission only had standard contracts for certain aspects of airfare transactions, such as refunds and flight changes, but that those standards were not mandatory and did not contain any measures for dealing with consumer disputes.
The foundation called on the commission and the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) to establish regulations that would better protect consumers in cases of disputes with low-cost airlines.
The commission said it would hold a meeting with the CAA to discuss the possibility of setting up such regulatory measures.
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